‘The Heiress’ will bring on the scares, chills, and frights

Photo from Regal Entertainment Inc.

Horror fans and horror purists, rejoice!

There is a high probability that “The Heiress” is exactly the kind of local horror movie you have been waiting for years to be shown in cinemas.

If my memory serves me right, this will be the very first time that a native demonic entity — specifically, the Mambabarang — will be a featured villain in a local horror movie in a long time. This also makes “The Heiress” undoubtedly Filipino in appeal and could very well help people who are unfamiliar with our kind of horror movies get their introduction to this genre via “The Heiress.”

This movie could be an excellent way to know how horror is done in Philippine cinema.

For me, the Mambabarang is an interesting choice because I, for one, have never heard of a Mambabarang till now. It should serve to dig deeper into our psyche as Filipinos since all of us at one point have heard of scary stories, urban legends, and tales of monsters, creatures of the night, and evil incarnations that dwell and exist in the most rural parts of the country, or supposedly existed long ago before modern times.

I have to mention again the trailer of “The Heiress” because for now, this is all we have to work with to know more about this soon-to-be-released horror-themed movie from Regal Entertainment, Inc. While watching it, you get that calm and relaxed feeling at first. Then, the danger gradually creeps in with the changing atmospheric mood one could sense in the trailer. It is like the classic bait-and-switch of emotions that moviegoers experience watching horror movies.

For sure, the scares will be there since it is a modern local horror movie. But the question is: How many possible scary moments, disturbing acts, and jump scares will we have in “The Heiress”? I hope there will be a lot of those in “The Heiress.” I am hoping this movie will bring out those raw emotions in moviegoers because the trailer looks very promising in that regard.

Moviegoers want to get scared, disturbed, and bothered by what they will see in a horror movie. In my opinion, that is something I would call as the “unholy trinity” of emotions one should feel in a horror movie to make it a complete movie experience for the moviegoers. And I think “The Heiress” could be the one to give this to them in huge amounts.

I am getting this feeling with “The Heiress” that it is almost like a cross between “The Ring” and “The Exorcist” and another classic horror movie whose title escapes me now. The trailer has that creepy, frightening, and twisted vibe about it which has led me to make those comparisons. There is certainly an air of darkness to “The Heiress” based alone on the trailer.

Now, when it comes to the main star of “The Heiress,” Janella Salvador, she is a popular young actress that exudes beauty, class, and sophistication. A mainstream celebrity Janella Salvador is and who is no stranger to starring in horror movies. There is always depth to her acting no matter the movie genre she is starring in. A perfect casting choice, this is for her — the Mambabalang — where she plays and seems to be a modern-day dalagang Filipina.

But wait, is Janella Salvador the Mambabarang itself? Or is possessed or haunted by the demonic entity in “The Heiress”? Or is she a continually changing demonic entity?

I would not know for certain because a modern horror movie can go in any and all directions which makes the plotline unpredictable. This is what makes it more exciting for moviegoers because they will not know exactly where it will take them.

One thing I do know, though, is that everyone has a dark side. Some choose to wisely suppress it, and a few, unfortunately, do end up getting swallowed and changed by the darkness that comes their way in whatever form it may be. That darkness may even come from within them.

So, which is it for Janella Salvador’s on-screen character in “The Heiress”?

You and I will all have to wait and see until “The Heiress” is shown in cinemas nationwide.

“The Heiress” stars Janella Salvador, Maricel Soriano, Sunshine Cruz, McCoy De Leon, and Jane De Leon.

“The Heiress” is directed by Frasco Mortiz and produced by Regal Entertainment, Inc.

/atm